Free SPICE software exploits multicore processors

Linear Technology has announced LTspice IV, a major update to its free LTspice/SwitcherCAD III SPICE circuit simulation software featuring multi-threaded solvers designed to better utilize current multicore processors. According to the company, LTspice IV speeds up the simulation speed of medium- to large-sized circuits by a factor of three on a quad core.

The software also includes new SPARSE matrix solvers that deploy assembly language in order to approach the theoretical flop limit of current FPUs. The tool implements proprietary methods that efficiently parallelize tasks that would require as little as 5 µs to run single-threaded.